List of U.S. friendly-fire incidents since 1945 with British victims

Camera footage from a U.S. A-10, as it begins an attack on a British vehicle squadron, March 2003.

This is a list of friendly fire incidents by the U.S. Military on allied British personnel and civilians. The topic has become prevalent in British culture due to some recent incidents, and is often satirically portrayed in the media.

Korean War

• 23 September 1950: During the "Battle of Hill 282", three USAF P-51 Mustang aircraft attacked a position held by the British Army's 1st Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, with guns and napalm, killing 17 and wounding 76.^[1] One of the survivors of the incident, George Younger, went on to become Britain's Secretary of State for Defence (1986-89).

Gulf War

• 26 February 1991: Nine British soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, were killed and further 11 injured after their Warrior armoured vehicles were hit by Maverick missiles fired by two U.S. A-10 ground attack aircraft.^[2] An Oxford inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killings.^[3]
• 27 February 1991: Two British soldiers of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars were injured when their Scorpion armoured vehicles were fired on by U.S. M1 Abrams tanks.^[2]
• 14 April 1994: In the 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, 26 Allied military and civilian personnels, including two British Army officers, were killed when two U.S. Air Force F-15Cs fighter aircraft shot down two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks helicopters they were in.

War in Afghanistan

• 5 December 2006: Royal Marine Jonathan Wigley's death was caused by gunfire from a U.S. F-18 aircraft.^[4]
• July 2007: British Guardsman Matthew Lyne-Pirkis, of the Grenadier Guards, was wounded along with three other allied soldiers of the Afghan National Army after being hit by gunfire from a U.S. Apache helicopter gunship.^[5]
• 23 August 2007: A bomb dropped by an F-15 killed three soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment and wounded a further two.^[6] During the subsequent inquest, issues such as inadequate communication equipment and incorrect coordinates from a British forward air controller were raised.^[7] The coroner finally stated it was down to the "flawed application of procedures" rather than individual errors or "recklessness".^[8]
• 21 December 2009: A British soldier was fatally shot by a US helicopter crew in Afghanistan who thought they were attacking an enemy base. Gunfire from the helicopters left 11 injured on the ground.^[9] The coroner criticised the British commanders for the fact Patrol Base Almas was not marked on military maps, for the 'unprofessional' use of grainy images and for insisting there were no friendly forces in the area to the Apache crew.^[10]
• 5 December 2010: Private John Howard was killed by American troops after soldiers called for backup. Private Howard is understood to have died as the low-flying pilot attempted to strafe an enemy target with cannon fire.^[11][12]

Iraq War

• 23 March 2003: A British Tornado jet was shot down by a U.S. Patriot missile, killing two crewmen.^[13][14]
• 28 March 2003: British Lance-Corporal of Horse Matty Hull was killed by U.S. A-10 jets as well as five others wounded in the 190th Fighter Squadron, Blues and Royals friendly fire incident.
• 6 April 2003: During the Battle of Debecka Pass, BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson and members of his crew were injured when a bomb dropped from a U.S. F-15 aircraft hit a friendly Kurdish and U.S. Special Forces convoy, killing 15 people, including BBC translator Kamaran Abdurazaq Muhamed.^[15][16]

References